Microsoft Alters OS Plans as Hearings Loom

Microsoft Corp. has deviated from its initial plans to have the operating system code-named Blackcomb succeed Windows XP, instead adding a new release to its product rollout strategy currently code-named Longhorn.

Microsoft Corp. has deviated from its initial plans to have the operating system code-named Blackcomb succeed Windows XP, instead adding a new release to its product rollout strategy currently code-named Longhorn.

The move has surprised some developers, Microsoft partners and beta testers because Microsoft executives have been publicly touting Blackcomb to follow Windows XP.

Jim Allchin, group vice president of Microsoft's platform group, confirmed to eWEEK on Monday that planning for a next-version operating system started in May. But that release will not be Blackcomb.

"We haven't settled on anything yet," Allchin said via e-mail. "We have used several code names for thinking about this. Longhorn was one of the names -- there are others. Nothing is final. This is just normal planning that started back in May as we prepare for completing Windows XP."

A Microsoft spokesman also told eWEEK that "I have also always understood that there would be an interim version of the operating system between XP and Blackcomb."

But in his keynote address at last year's Microsoft Professional Developers Conference in Orlando, Fla., Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates told the audience that the successor to Windows 2000, then code-named Whistler and later officially named Windows XP, was due during the second half of 2001.

Blackcomb, the successor to Whistler, was due out in the second half of 2002, Gates said, adding that in both releases, the Internet Explorer browser would become more fully integrated and more central.

Tom Laemmel, a product manager in the Windows division, also told eWEEK in a recent interview that the timeframe for the release of Longhorn would be "more traditional" and longer than the year between the release of Windows ME and the upcoming release of Windows XP on October 25.

People close to Microsoft also believed that Blackcomb would be the first true ".Net version" of Windows. But the Microsoft spokesman said it had not yet been decided which version of the operating system would be truly .Net-centric.

A Microsoft partner in the midwest, who declined to be named, was surprised by the news that Blackcomb had been pushed so far back. It's possible that Microsoft was "simply just not yet ready to deliver a true .Net version of the operating system in that timeframe," the partner said.

Congressional investigation?

Another reason for the delay could be that "perhaps they are working on a scaled-down version of Windows XP, which will have less things bundled. They could be preparing an operating system that will address the possible requirements of a negotiated settlement with the government and states in the antitrust case," he said.

But Microsoft's Allchin denied this vigorously, saying "the plans have nothing to do with some scaled-down version of XP concerning anything to do with settlement or antitrust issues."

The shift in Microsoft's planned release strategy comes as Windows XP faces continued legal challenges from the Department of Justice -- and now from investigation by legislators. New York Senator Charles Schumer, a Democratic member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is preparing to call for congressional hearings into Microsoft's "anti-competitive practices."

Related

Reuters reported late Monday that Schumer issued a statement saying he would hold a press conference on Tuesday to call for committee hearings to investigate Microsoft and "demand that Windows XP allow users to choose their media player, messenger service and other applications instead of being forced to use Microsoft applications."

The statement said Schumer will "discuss the possibility of enjoining the release of Windows XP." It said he had written a letter to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer demanding changes to Windows XP.

About the Author

Peter Galli has been a financial/technology reporter for 12 years at leading publications in South Africa, the UK and the US. He has been Investment Editor of South Africa's Business Day Newspaper, the sister publication of the Financial Times of London.
He was also Group Financial Communications Manager for First National Bank, the second large... See Full Bio

Get Our Best Stories!

This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.